Hitler race car could set auction record

PARIS, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Christie's auction officials say a 1939 German race car commissioned by Adolf Hitler will likely fetch a record $12 million at a Paris auction in February.

The car, designed by Ferdinand Porsche, is one of five remaining Auto Union D-types, which is now Audi. It was commissioned by Hitler in 1933 to show off Germany's technological superiority and has a top speed of 185 mph, CNN Money reported.

Its twin-supercharged 3-liter V12 engine located behind the driver can produce 485 horsepower and is a prototype of modern Formula 1 and Indy cars, said Rupert Banner, head of Christie's motor cars department.

"It's the same as a modern day race car, just without fins," Banner said.

As for the car's history, two days after Germany invaded Poland the car Christie's is auctioning won a Grand Prix race in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, Banner said.

The D-type will be part of Christie's "Retromobile" auction of antique cars in Paris next February, the report said.